Easy Vanilla Buttercream

I’ve been meaning to add a buttercream recipe to my blog for ages and just haven’t quite gotten around to it. I think part of my reluctance to post was that I’m not the best at piping and so had no idea how to present it to show off it’s yummy deliciousness.However, a couple of day’s ago I came across this 3-second buttercream rose tutorial by Toni at This Mama. She made it look so simple that I couldn’t resist whipping up some vanilla cupcakes and a batch of buttercream to give it a try.

I was pretty pleased with the results *smug grin* so I decided buttercream finally deserved a place on my blog.

What’s the secret to perfect buttercream?

Buttercream is extremely simple to make. However, to ensure that you can create beautiful cakes with it you need to make sure it’s the right consistency.

At this point I want you to imagine you’re making a sandwich. I’m sure that, like me, you’ve experienced those times when you’ve taken the butter out of the fridge and attempted to spread it onto your sandwich only to find that you end up ripping the bread to shreds instead – butter still in one lump, bread with a great big hole in the middle. Now imagine how soft your butter needs to be to ensure that doesn’t happen. That’s the consistency you want your buttercream – just spreadable, but not runny.

So how do you get your buttercream to the right consistency?

It’s important to ensure that your butter is soft in the first place – just spreadable (like you would use for that successful sandwich). The best idea is to leave it out of the fridge for a little while to soften. However, I find that if I forget, I can cut it into cubes and beat it on a high speed in my Kitchenaid and it softens pretty quickly (this only works because I have a powerful stand mixer. I used to try it with my hand mixer but I found my arm going round and round with the beaters stuck in the lump of butter instead of the butter softening as I wanted).

Unfortunately you start with the butter at just the right consistency and then add a load of icing sugar causing it to thicken up. So you need to soften it a little again.

This is where the milk comes in. Gradually beat in the milk a few drops at a time and check the consistency before adding more. For icing using 250g butter and 500g icing sugar I find about a tablespoon of milk is the right amount, but I add it at no more than ½ teaspoon at a time as other factors such as the temperature of your kitchen can also impact how soft the buttercream gets and it’s easy to add more but impossible to take it out.

What You’ll Need

Before you start, make sure you have all of the equipment needed.

NOTE – These are affiliate links which means that if you purchase from Amazon after clicking on one the product links below I may earn a small commission. All of the products linked are ones I use in my kitchen.

• Weighing Scales
• Measuring Spoons
• Knife – to cut the butter
• Electric Mixer (or a bowl and hand mixer or wooden spoon)
• Sieve
• Piping Bags – if you’re planning on piping the cupcakes
• Piping Nozzle – To pipe the cupcakes as shown in the video you’ll need a JEM 1B nozzle. To pipe the cupcakes as shown in the pictures you’ll need a Wilton 2D nozzle.

Fancy trying a different flavour of buttercream on your cakes?

Then take a look at my new recipe for delicious NUTELLA BUTTERCREAM

Free From/Suitable For…

• Suitable for Vegetarians
• Gluten-Free
• Egg-Free
• Tree Nut-Free
• Peanut-Free
• Sesame-Free
• Soya-Free
• Sulphur Dioxide & Sulphite-Free
• Lupin-Free

If you’re looking for a dairy-free buttercream recipe then try my Vegan Vanilla Buttercream.

The ingredients for this recipe are commonly available free from all these allergens. However, please ensure you double-check allergen information for all ingredients.